The Years Together
by Venus Iris' 2nd Best Friend
Summary: Everyone has written this kind of story. 'Boohoo, we've gotta say good-bye, wawa.'. No, none of this nonsense! Because a 'good-bye' is really a 'see ya'. With me, the best (and only) plant scriptwriter, featured in the later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**_The Years Together_**

An aureole glinted round the silvery moon suspended in the velvety night sky as evening fell upon the old Victorian mansion at the edge of Gloomsville. The moon was sleeping peacefully until she heard a cry of help. In that mansion, someone desperately needed help.

Scaredy Bat's large, innocent eyes were diluted with terror, his single fang chattering nervously. He felt a spike of overwhelming adrenaline shooting through his spine. Fear erupted within him as he shuddered at the high altitude and forced himself to look up, away from the ground that seemed to be thousands of kilometers away. He felt a cool breeze tickling the back of his neck, chilling him to the bones. Cold fear, coupled with a seizure of terror, made him shriek and jump. No, he would not let himself fly in the face of fear. Not that he would fly. This had to be done. That, and he hated flying. He would rather stay on the sweet ground than to be up in the scary skies. He could feel the fear building up inside him. Visceral, stark fear. However, the little courage he had impelled him to accomplish a feat that he would have never otherwise achieved.

He hung a pink steamer, from three meters off the sweet ground! Now, there were only 127 to go! In a wild demonstration of wild ecstasy and excitement, he danced on the top of the ladder.

Unfortunately, just as he was twirling around with his purple scarf, he caught a glimpse of the ground and noticed how high up he was. Then, that woozy, topsy-turvy sensation hit him. Everything took on a greenish hue. Strangely, an amp with a pillow broke his fall, as he fainted on the soft cushion.

"Thanks Skull Boy, but something tells me that this will take a while." Iris groaned. For once, the exuberant cyclops looked worn-out but who could blame her?

Since a month ago, they have been trying to arrange a birthday surprise for the perky goth. Many often say that the tenth year of anybody's lives signifies the coming of age, the defining transition from a child to a preteen. Single digit age to a double digit age. And everyone wanted to ensure that Ruby remembered this day. After long nights when they would rack their brains to think up of innovative ways to surprise the cheerful red-haired, Skull Boy came up with the most impeccable plan for Ruby's birthday surprise. Yet, the idea was officially credited to Iris rather than Skull Boy. In the end, nobody cared who received the credit as everyone was sure that the plan would make Ruby so touched that she would shed tears of joy. At least, that was if the plan went accordingly. All they had to do was prepare the party while Doom distracted her owner. Simple as it sounded, it was a logistical nightmare to make the arrangements and communicate the plan to everyone without having Ruby know about it. It took days to get the supplies but the effort was worth it. Now, if only they had better planning skills.

"Being a poet, I can rhyme. Not being a musician, I can only write a hymn. Saving Scaredy was all I could do, for composing a birthday song makes me a fool." Skull Boy sighed as he adjusted a microphone.

Strangely, Frank and Len had volunteered to bake the cake, leaving Skull Boy with the job of music. Unfortunately, the skeleton was not overwhelmed with musical desires but literacy urges. To soothe his poetic bones, he vowed to speak in rhyme until the day was over. His ancestors would be very proud of him. Besides, if Frank and Len could do set up the stage, so could he.

Speaking of the rocker brothers, they busied themselves with measured some flour and pouring it into a mixing bowl. Then, Len added some sugar and a slab of butter. Frank narrowed his eyes in concentration when he cracked an egg before frowning. He had seen some celebrity chefs do this, surely it was easy. He gave a look to Len who seemed to have the same, restless look. They nodded. Cracking another egg, he pirouetted and tossed it into the mixing bowl with a flourish. The eggs rose in a straight, sticky mass as though they were defying gravity, and landed with a splat on the floor. Small patches of gooey yolk were found all over the kitchen floor. One patch even landed on Len's foot.

Iris was trying her best to just focus on the rather mundane job of blowing up the balloons but her single, large eye darted around her room. She loved going on action-filled adventures and had trouble sitting still. In a few seconds, she fell asleep and Iris' slow and even breaths made the balloon inflate and deflate regularly until the loudspeakers crackled and squeaked. Startled, she woke up before glaring reproachfully at Skull Boy who was busy fumbling with the switches.

Poe was the only one enjoying and doing his job; stacking all of Ruby's presents and arranging the tables. Though, it was rather odd that the blueberries he had picked were going into his mouth than into the bowl.

Misery shuffled out of the kitchen, with her usual lethargic expression. Her long, jet black locks fell all the way to the floor and her drab, purple dress dragged on the floor as she walked. She was carefully carrying a small, white ceramic bowl with both hands and as she moved, a jingling sound was heard.

"Ok, I have the pins for 'Pin the tail on the dust bunny'. They're sharp so don't—"

By the time Scaredy had regained consciousness, Misery stumbled over a floorboard and the bowl went flying forward. The bowl broke into dozens of shattered pieces and the pins attacked Misery, each one of them piercing deeply into her blue skin. The sight was bad enough to make the little bat faint again.

"Well, that went well." She said without the least bit of shock as she plucked the pins, one by one.

"Switching roles will be good for our souls!" Skull Boy suddenly proclaimed.

"He's right. Alright! Skull Boy, switch with Frank and Len! Scaredy, you and I switch! Misery and Poe, switch!" Iris ordered.

"W-what?! But I like my job!" Poe protested until he noticed that Misery was still plucking out the pins from her skin. He winced at the sight.

"Games it is."

* * *

Five minutes and migraines later, everything was perfect.

Multi-colored balloons formed a vibrant canopy covering the white ceiling as Iris jumped up and down with her spring shoes, Scaredy handing her the balloons after inflating them. Rows of tables groaned under the weight of sumptuous goodies. Everyone had contributed to the food by bringing a different dish for the birthday party. There, sitting in the middle of the array of food, was the most beautiful strawberry shortcake he had ever seen. No doubt that it was created by Skull Boy, currently a baker extraordinaire. The lovely delicacy was garnished with tiny silver balls and delectable sugared violets.

'Happy Birthday Ruby!' was written in elegant, strawberry cursive icing on the pastry.

Music pervaded the air as Frank and Len busied themselves with tuning their guitar. Sound systems were good to go. The presents were piled promisingly in a corner of the room, thanks to Misery. Poe ensured that stacks of gaming equipment were placed just right beside the gifts.

"Great job!" Iris whooped until she heard a slight 'thud'.

A ball of yellow yarn! That was the signal!

"She's here! Hide!" Scaredy shrieked.

"Hey, where did the yarn come from?" Len asked as he and Frank nearly tripped over each other's foot.

Frank slapped himself. Sometime it could be difficult to share a body—especially since Len wasn't quite as good at paying attention to details. Nevertheless, almost everyone managed to hide in a remote corner of the room which, when Poe blew out all the candles, was impossible to spot in the darkness. In fact, the crow had trouble finding it when he extinguished the last flame.

"Where is everyone—?!" He squawked when Skull Boy grabbed him.

"Alright people, when she comes in, we'll all shout out 'Happy Birthday', okay?" Iris repeated her instructions for the umpteenth time as everyone else, minus Doom and Ruby, all agreed with her in a droning voice; obviously they had gotten tired of her reminders. All that was left was to finally see Ruby's shocked countenance at their surprise.

Someone switched on the lights and the gang mentally counted to ten before jumping out of their hiding place.

"Surprise!" Everyone trumpeted vivaciously. Streamers were popped and confetti on... no one.

"Huh?" Everyone echoed blankly.

"Well, that was a waste of surprise attacks. Now we are sitting ducks." Poe grumbled.

"Oh no! What if a horrible monster has kidnapped her?" Scaredy shrieked.

"Maybe aliens abducted her and forced Ruby to marry! At least she has her wedding planned!" Len chirped.

"Ah, I hope she is prepared as I am for any impending disaster... or funeral... or hospital trip... or—" Misery went on and on until...

Someone chirped,

"I'm sorry Misery, but I haven't really thought about my wedding yet. I'm glad that you're all set for anything though!"

Everyone cried,

"Ruby?!"

Their jaws dropped as their eyes bugged out in the most comical way. Finally, after their perfect imitations of floundering fishes, Poe managed to find some words,

"RUBY?! But Doom Kitty was supposed to... she threw the yarn!"

Just then, said cat pranced into the room, having the decency to look sheepish and play with her tail before using it to form an arrow and point at the calendar.

"You guys kinda wrote it on the calendar." Ruby pointed out.

And they did. They had marked the surprise party down in the planner, all in caps with exclamation marks and doodles of smiley skulls.

"Oh." Everyone chirped with dawned understanding.

Even though the surprise was spoiled, their failure did not detract them from the fun they had during the entire event. The air was filled with the sound of poppers and bursts of colorful streamers. The candles on the cake were blown out, but the smell of smoke lingered for a little while more as evidenced by Misery's occasional coughs and Ruby giving her an entire pitcher of water. As Ruby cut the creamy cake into pieces and dished them out to everyone there, they sat around in the Great Hall until Iris announced that it was time to open the presents. The cyclops constantly urged Ruby to open up the box in chants. While Ruby was unwrapping Iris' gift, the banshee warned her,

"Careful. Paper cuts can be surprisingly painful as they can stimulate a large number of pain receptors in a very small area of the skin. Because the shallow cut does not bleed very much, the pain receptors are left open to the air, ensuring continued pain. Don't believe me? Then ask my great, great, great, grandmother's friend's doctor. He got one while writing my ancestor's prescription."

Everyone just blinked in disbelief. Even after being subjected to years of Misery's weird warnings and bemusing behavior, the unlucky girl could still leave her friends speechless. Only Misery seemed oblivious to the chaos that she had created and to the fact Ruby saved her from further scrutiny as she quickly opened the box and gasped.

"Oh my god! A jade plant!" She grinned. Iris giggled and explained its meaning. Apparently, it was meant to spread love and happiness if you keep it watered daily.

"Gee, I think Iris' trying to give Ruby more chores." Frank guffawed until he felt the heat of the others' black looks. The only one not glaring at him was Ruby. With the plant in hand, Ruby headed for the kitchen. The sound of opening and closing cabinets was heard, followed by the clunking of pots and bowls, the whoosh of running water, the shoveling of dirt, the snipping of scissors and the humming of a tune. Soon, Ruby came back with the plant in a red pot.

"Thanks Iris! I promise to take care of it." She squealed. All the adventuress did was smirk at a blushing Frank, much to everyone's amusement.

Next was Misery. In her hands was what appeared to be a friendship bracelet. She tied it on Ruby's wrist and explained that it was a Native American tradition. If she made Ruby wear it, Ruby could wish for something. The girl glowed with delight as she wished hopefully,

"I wish for... OW!" Ruby yelped when Misery rapped her knuckles with her weird staff. The glowing skull flickered slightly as Misery shook her head furiously.

"No, don't say it aloud."

Ruby massaged her hands before shooting Misery her pearly smile and adjusting the bracelet.

"I'll wear it everyday! Thanks Misery!"

Timidly, Scaredy went up to the birthday girl, shaking like a leaf. What if Ruby hated his gift? What if everyone gets a rather positive response BUT him. Ruby's smiling mien put his frazzled nerves at ease as he handed her a glass key chain in the shape of a turtle. According to him, it was meant to protect and preserve friendship. He held his breath as he awaited Ruby's reaction as she contemplated how great the gift was with a slight frown. Much to his surprise, Ruby laughed a melodious laugh as she extended her arms for a bear hug. Eagerly, he accepted it.

"I love it! Thank you Scaredy!" She looked at him with jubilation and tucked it in safely into her pocket.

Doom nuzzled her owner's feet briefly before giving her a book. All Ruby had to do was take a quick glance at the book before her cheeks took on a bright vermilion color.

"Er... I'll read it when I'm a little bit older. Maybe on my twentieth birthday?"

Doom couldn't help but give her best friend a sassy smirk and a wink, briefly arranging her face in such a way that it became skull-shaped.

"Doom!" She whispered fiercely into her pet's ear. "He's right here!" She mouthed angrily.

Doom briefly pointed to herself, then to Ruby before cupping Ruby's still crimson red cheeks, as if saying that it was her job to embarrass the girl.

"What did she say, Ruby?" Iris asked.

"Ummm...," Ruby fumbled, "it's Skull Boy turn now!"

Just before giving Ruby's gift, Skull Boy strangely asked everyone not to laugh at him no matter how silly he was. He threatened them in a rather morbid yet poetic way;

"You're my friends, so I don't want to say good-bye, but if you laugh, chortle, chuckle, giggle or guffaw, you'll die."

Still, they couldn't suppress their laughter when Poe whispered to them that Skull Boy was giving Ruby a poem he wrote for her. All of them couldn't help but wonder if Skull Boy actually realized that giving Ruby a poem was a rather romantic gesture. They stifled their giggles and chuckles when he began though. In the end, they felt their eyes (or eye in Iris' case) clouding over. Len and Scaredy even started to bawl.

"That… was… BEAUTIFUL!" Iris sniffled.

"M-marvelous. Excuse me." Poe choked back a sob as he took out a handkerchief and blotted his eyes.

A single tear trickled down Ruby's cheeks as she hugged Skull Boy.

"Look, I know that I've been saying this so often, but thank you."

"Aw, you're welcome Ruby. My pleasure." Skull Boy smiled at her until he realized...

"Hey! You didn't speak in rhyme!" Len exclaimed, taking the words out of Skull Boy's mind. The skeleton frowned but shrugged it off.

"Eh, it was getting old." He admitted as Poe carried his gift to Ruby. A long feather quilt with ink on the tip. For her to write in her diary.

"Wait a second, how did you get a quill? All the shops were closed today for the Work-free day and I know that they only received their shipment of quills just yesterday."

"Er... FRANK! LEN! YOUR TURN!" Poe announced before Ruby could even thank him. (Thank goodness! It was kinda getting annoying. But each of these gifts are important MUCH, MUCH, MUCH LATER!)

Last but not least, Frank and Len. Everyone was really shocked to see them whipping out a brand new clothing bag with Ruby's name on it. And in it was the most beautiful dress ever... that was too big for Ruby.

"See? I told you that it wasn't her size." Frank groaned to Len.

"Well, maybe I can wear it when I grow older." Ruby tried to placate them.

After a few more 'thank you's, they found themselves talking and reminiscing about the past and the recent drama.

"I can't believe you guys actually thought that I was going away!" Ruby giggled.

"HEY! It was a possibility..." Iris sighed.

Scaredy twiddled his wings nervously before asking,

"Ruby, we will not... be apart right? I mean, thinking that we were going to be apart was... well.. BEYOND SCARY."

At Scaredy's plea, Ruby couldn't help but stare at him. She knew that she had hurt them but she didn't expect Scaredy to remember it. Or hear of it considering that he was doing the grocery-shopping on that day. The others couldn't hide their anxiety, fear evident on the faces so Ruby put on her trademark smile, finding it growing with each word,

"Of course not. I mean, yes, one day, we'll have to go on our own separate ways but I can tell you, that we'll always be there for each other, in a millisecond."

And as they talked, they remembered.

They remembered meeting each other the first time. They remembered how they found a place to hangout, how they entertained one another and how they had fun together. They remembered their first day at school, dealing with new teachers, worrying about not getting to share classes with each other, finding the right clubs to join and stressful exams.

And they will remember this moment too.

* * *

Six years passed and Ruby found herself smoothing out the invisible wrinkles in the dress for the fifth time. Finally, she was big enough for Frank and Len's dress. Her fiery red hair was swept up in a ponytail to show off her slender neck which was adorned with a simple black choker. Other than Misery's bracelet, it was the only accessory she was wearing. The dress was more than enough, the sequins were sewn so precisely that they reminded Ruby of a mermaid's tail, glittering and splashing through the deep blue sea, its wide neckline and cap sleeves showed off her flawless milky skin. Unfortunately, the dress was soon hidden by her blue gown though. She giggled when she remembered the day their caps and gowns arrived, showing them off, laughing and twirling until the flaring hem knocked over Misery who landed in the piano. She just couldn't believe it. Not Misery landing in the piano, that was totally predictable.

They were graduating.

Her eyes, framed by long lashes, were as dark as ink and yet, they seemed to brighten the world, along with her radiant smile. She was the happiest girl in the world... no, she wasn't a girl anymore. A woman. No matter what baggy clothes she wore, the voluptuous swells and valleys womanhood had brought her were impossible to miss. Thanks to the years passing, she had developed delicately boned features and a perfect feminine face shape, a stark contrast to her cute, cherub face when she was fourteen years old. Ruby had certainly grown from an awkward, prepubescent child into a graceful and mature young woman. Of course, the number of admirers seemed to grow because of this and all of them ended up crying like babies when they discovered that Ruby was Skull Boy's girl. It took a few years and a few hilarious incidents for Ruby to confess her feelings and for Skull Boy to realize that he was in love with her since he met the cheerful girl. (But hey, they were inseparable now)

While she didn't like any form of cosmetics, she had lit numerous vanilla incense candles and placed them strategically all around her room. So instead of being engulfed by the eerie darkness, the room was a cosy haven sheathed in the golden glow of the flickering flames. Misery was seated far away from them, of course, not wanting to start a fire on their last day together.

Misery looked resplendent in her light blue chiffon gown. Her hair was like a cascading river of ebony and while it was the main reason why she was so clumsy, seeing how long it was and how often she tripped over it, it framed her face perfectly. While her eyes were rheumy, they seemed to be knowing... about any impeding disaster about to happen at least. She often had spots dominating her face but her blue face was quite soft... that would happen if you had to take constant medication from a witch. Like the other girls, she wore no make-up, claiming that her pimples were bad enough, she did NOT need a rash, thank you very much. She did however, allow Ruby to intricately braid her hair and she fastened it together at the nape with a golden band.

Iris was waving her arms widely, causing the bangles she was wearing to make a curious tinkling sound that attracted Doom to them. However, the adventurer was oblivious to Doom's failed attempts to snatch the jewelry as she formed a figure eight on Ruby's fluffy carpet with her new roller-skates. As Ruby tried to neaten Iris' hair, the cyclops chatted with her best friend,

"Can you believe it?! College! Finally!"

Wearing a halter-neck midnight blue, Iris felt uncomfortable. Her bare shoulders were chilly and the neckline plunged so deeply that she thought she would catch a cold. She wished that she could wear a cardigan at least. However, she soon forgot about how much she hated the dress when she saw the jewelry that went with it. Decorated with gold brocades and intricate hand embroidery, the 'shiny things' made her squeal instead of scorn. Her raven-black hair now fell in loose strands over her violet eye that was twinkling with excitement. Thanks to years of adventuring, she was a slender cyclops.

"I have the feeling that wonderful things are just around the corner for us! I can't wait!" Ruby smiled before grabbing her cute purple handbag. Misery was about to open the door when Iris shouted.

"Wait, this could be my last trick in your room! I need to perform the best leap on rollerblades in history! All I need is a huge pool of dead insects!"

She was slightly surprised when Misery wheeled in a huge cauldron, filled to the brim with creepy-crawlies.

Silence enveloped the room as the two girls stared at the black pot, trying not to squirm,

"It's a tradition in my family to collect the bugs you find in your hair. I mostly have locusts." The unlucky girl finally stated.

"Great! Just place it near Ruby's bed!" Iris recovered, oblivious to her best friend's face rapidly turning green. Slapping on some elbow pads and knee pads, securing her roller skates and fastening her helmet, Iris was born ready. She put her finger into the mouth before raising it high into the air, checking for wind.

"Perfect." She chuckled and rubbed her hands together.

Then, as still as a statue, she focused on her obstacle. Doom pulled out a stopwatch, a whistle and a red flag from out of nowhere. She gave two short whistles before blowing out a long one and raising the flag in the air. In split seconds, Iris was off and the stopwatch was ticking away the seconds. As she zoomed to the cauldron, she performed various antics; such as juggling a brain (property of Frankenstein's monster), books and butter.

She tossed those items away (and all of them landed on Misery who sighed and quickly went to the bathroom) when she was approaching the pot of doom. Taking a sharp intake of breath she jumped and did a twirl in mid-air before grabbing hold of Ruby's swing and playing the saxophone. Doom waved a banner high in the air that screamed the words 'GO IRIS' and Iris received an outstanding ovation from the other girls.

"BRAVO!" Ruby cheered.

"You didn't sustain any injuries!" Misery heaved a relieved sigh as she tossed away a first-aid kit, just having cleaned herself.

Doom even whistled to show her enthusiasm and formed a thumbs-up sign with her tail.

"Come on, it's time to head over to the high school!" Ruby grinned, until she peeked outside the window and saw Frank and Len in their gown and cap...

...without any pants.

"Guys! You look great in your gown and cap but you still need pants!" Ruby hollered from her balcony.

"WE'RE NOT GONNA GRADU- OOF!" Frank tried to announce but Skull Boy tackled him and Len to the ground and slid on a pair of pants on them before tying them up. During all of this, Skull Boy did not even get a stain on his pressed button-down shirt and blazer. He even managed to quickly put on his gown just as the girls got down to the entrance of the house, with the aid of Iris' spring shoes, of course. Unfortunately, just as they were getting down, Misery landed head-first with a sickening 'thud'. As Doom and Ruby quickly helped her up, Len and Frank squabbled with Skull Boy.

"Come on Skull Boy, have a heart!" Len cried until he noticed that the skeleton was scowling and pointing to his rib-cage.

"Poor choice of words, Len but still! He's right! How are we gonna make friends there?" Frank sobbed.

At that, Skull Boy's grip softened slightly, and he shot them a sympathetic glance, before turning to his girlfriend, silently begging her to help him. Taking his cue, Ruby said,

"Look guys, we'll you will make friends the way you made us your friends! And we ARE still going to talk to each other, maybe even visit one another, right everyone?"

"YUP!" Everyone chorused.

"E-e-excuse me. But, may I remind everyone that there is summer. We could all have a wonderful, not-dangerous, anti-monster, anti-scares, peaceful vacation." Scaredy pointed out that fact in a trembling tone.

Scaredy hadn't changed much in terms of personality or appearance strangely. In fact, most of the boys didn't, save for their towering heights and Len's newly acquired facial hair. It was more of a stubble, really, but after years of trying to look more manly, Len was satisfied. Too bad neither he nor Frank were as tall as Skull Boy now. As a skeleton ages, he can receive more leg bones and decide to change his height anytime and Skull Boy chose to do so.

At Scaredy's words, Ruby coughed nervously. Time seemed to have stood still and the silence was unnerving.

"Oh, right. For every Gloomsville graduate, they must explore their choice of schooling. Speaking of which, what did you all choose?" Scaredy began rather calmly.

"Oh... well..." Ruby started with a smile. Maybe Scaredy's nerves were not jangling that much now...

Just then, the door slammed closed behind him with a clunk, causing the poor bat to shriek and dive underneath the welcome mat.

"Scaredy," Ruby softly tried to coax him, "that was just the door closing behind you. Nothing to be afraid of."

Scaredy wiggled his way out from under the rug.

"Oh, yes, yes, of course but you must admit, the sound of those doors is quite alarming. That, and the weird antics Skull Boy was performing."

"Oh, I think that my family tree connects me to the great Bruce Lee!" The skeleton whooped. He suddenly whipped out a pair of nun-chucks and swung the lethal weapon freely after making sure he was a safe distance away from everybody. Strangely however, Doom was able to catch it in mid-air and stop Skull Boy from giving Scaredy Bat a heart attack. He chuckled nervously before throwing them away somewhere, resulting in a loud crash.

"Ya, I guess I should stop now." He sighed.

Ruby giggled before rising up on her tiptoes and planting an impulsive kiss on the top of his skull, making the skeleton finger his tingling skull with an airy smile and giving his girlfriend a look akin to adoration. They stared into one another's eyes and drank each other in, their lips curved in a mutually secretive smile.

The others reacted to the sweet scene with a mixture of 'awws' and groans. However, Poe was quick to insinuate himself between the two of them by magically appearing out of nowhere. Poe was so excited that he only buffed his beak in a counterclockwise fashion thirty ONE times instead of thirty TWO times. So he really didn't want to waste time just because of two lovebirds, no matter how cute they are. The crow snagged hold of Ruby's wrist and dragged her away from Skull Boy. He resolutely ignored their protests as he pulled Ruby into the trolley.

"Ah, ah, ah," He clucked his tongue, "not until you two graduate."

Ruby regarded Skull Boy with a besotted look from underneath the lush fan of her lashes as everyone else climbed into the trolley.

"How long can you wait?"

Skull Boy smirked,

"Until graduation's over but until then, bye 可爱的女朋友." He chuckled as he suddenly produced another bony leg.

(Bolded chinese characters mean 'lovely girlfriend' in simplified Chinese.)

"What's with the three legs, Skulls?" Frank asked.

"Three-Legs Lee becomes Three-Legs Bony." He rolled his eyes, as if it was obvious.

"Who will use that leg to propose to—" Len's voice was muffled by Frank stuffing garlic bread into his mouth.

"Not now Len, let... er... Bony Lee get the ring." Frank shook his head furiously. Even six years couldn't do much for Len's brain.

"Guys! Now that loud... and I already have it." Skull Boy whispered before digging through his pockets and producing a velvet box. Even though it was closed shut, whatever was inside it seemed to be shining, causing Frank and Len to simultaneously say just before they joined the others,

"Super duper pithy."

* * *

Graduation was a momentous occasion, symbolizing the completion of a great education milestone and a new stage of life. Every student, even the ghosts who LOATHED dressing up, were wearing their beautifully ironed graduation gowns, graduation caps as well as tassels to attend the important ceremony.

It was sheer madness as the teachers tried to line everyone alphabetically.

"Woah... look at the line!" Iris gasped.

"I just hope I don't trip. Or cause an earthquake." Misery added.

"Up front, Skull Boy, Iris Eplorer, Misery Catastroph, Frank Len Duce and Len Frank Duce. Go now. This is the G line."

Reluctant sighs were heard as they trudged to their respective lines.

Still, there was a grin hanging on Ruby's lips that nobody could get rid of. Maybe it was the fact that she had made it to the top five percent of the class. Or that she could see Poe, Doom Kitty and Scaredy Bat cheering and waving. The big, red curtains were almost drawn back completely, enough for the students to see their families but not enough for anybody in the audience to see any of the students.

The principal began her speech and as Ruby expected it to be, it revolved around achieving success in the future which no one really could guarantee or promise...

Ms Fortune started calling up students to get their diplomas and the line began to shorten. Time flew by pretty fast, though Misery's hiccuping and her tornado did cause a slight delay until Doom scared her by creeping up to her slowly before pouncing on the unlucky girl. Apparently, Misery thought that she was being attacked by wolves again.

Ruby found herself still giggling over that incident as she went up.

'Ruby Allgems Gloom" The principal announced.

As Ruby received the rolled up parchment, she heard Iris cheering amongst the applause,

"WAHOO!"

Faint murmuring occurred over Iris' strange antic until the cyclops shouted,

"SORRY! THOUGHT IT WAS TIME TO PARTY NOW!"

Laughter echoed throughout the hall until the very last student obtained his certificate. Then silence reigned, sharpening every sense. Every itinerant sound was greedily gobbled at to fill the quiet. Until someone cleared their throat rather loudly.

"Oh, yes, sorry, I now give to you, the class of this year!" The principal finally announced.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Yes, I know some of you think Scaredy has overcome his fear of flying BUT Ruby's birthday takes place BEFORE 'Grounded in Gloomsville'.**

**Anyway, please review to get virtual crumpets!**

**Next Chapter: Hopefully by next week!**

* * *

**Sneak Peek**

"Of… wait, that's what you wanted to ask? I swore you would want to talk about Oxford. Poe told me that you had decided to go there. Not about you and Ruby!" Mr Gloom yelped.


	2. Chapter 2

**_The Years Together_**

**AN: I don't own anything. I do own myself though, that good enough, no? And here I am! Just scroll down to find me. Oh, and could you please click that little button somewhere on the page? It says 'review'.**

**PS: Any of you have fertilizers? I'm drained.**

* * *

Blue hats rained down along with cooling droplets. The crowd began to shift as people gathered into their cliques and the parents, siblings, and friends congratulated the graduates. Doom had sprinted towards Ruby before tackling the giggling girl, nuzzling her face.

"Can I say it now? Can I, can I?" Iris blubbered over the sudden roar of conversation.

In response, Doom quickly adorned a deely bobber and thwacked at one of the purple mini pom poms before blowing a party horn.

"What? There's a trumpet-playing reindeer?" Iris guessed. Ruby rolled her eyes before nudging the cyclops lightly,

"No, silly. It's time to party!"

* * *

Everyone in Spook School was buzzing in excitement. Even the principal and his staff of austere martinets had succumbed to the herd mentality and let their hair (or fur) down. Everyone was enveloped with an indescribable sense of exhilaration for the day's events, all planned by Ruby, of course.

Stalls set up by students filled up every corner of the school. Teachers and students were patronizing the stalls. Almost everyone admired the veritable cornucopia of every kind of food and beverage sold there. Huge prawns, juicy steaks, spicy sausages, a mountain of potato salad, lashings of chili sauce, what a feast! Frank and Len spent their time drooling over the dishes if they weren't performing. Their music was infectious and they even got others to join them in jamming. Thus, the 'Doom Kitty five minus three plus one' was formed. **(Poe mentioned that band once when I was having some... er.. writing problems. I promised him that I would use it, so there?)**

While the room was crowded, it was never claustrophobic as bodies swayed to the beat that rumbled under the soles of their feet, the party constantly on the edge of breaking into a dance. Still, Ruby's curiosity piqued her interest even as she moved past the throngs of students. She had made promise to herself that she would find out what everyone was going to do about the future. First up; Misery and Iris.

"I'm gonna go around the world, but no need to worry! I have Squig and Doomcakes with me! Sides, before school, I gotta take some real cool pictures before one of our assignments." Iris squealed the moment Ruby asked her.

"I've got absolutely no idea why my family members were shocked by my decision." Misery sighed.

Being the kind and supportive friend that she was, Ruby decided to encourage Misery to pursue her goals in life;

"Misery, you've got the smarts to get into ANY school YOU want. Don't let others discourage you."

"Ya! Go for it!" Iris chimed in eagerly.

The good news was that their advice made Misery feel a lot better. The bad news was;

"Thanks. I'll send you two invitations to see me perform my first operation in medical class."

The unlucky girl cracked a small smile, causing Misery's glass to break into smithereens and iced tea spilled all over her new dress. A beat passed as Misery cleaned herself while her friends stared at her in shock, all while handing her napkins.

Finally, Ruby was able to stutter out,

"Um... well, I er, guess I'm gonna ask the others. Thanks Misery! Thanks Iris!"

In a flash, she disappeared...

* * *

And found herself in Skull Boy's bony but warm arms.

As her skirt twirled around her, she laughed with the exhilaration of the dance. The music ebbed and flowed around them, and both she and Skull Boy could read it like a book; predict the next beat, prepare their next move. The sweet sounds, twisting and swirling through their minds nearly made Ruby forget what she wanted to ask Skull Boy, now a dancing maniac.

**(Oh, is it not ROMANTIC?!)**

"Skulls, have you decided what to do about your new life?"

Not surprisingly, the skeleton had topped the entire cohort but was still considering which University he should attend. Dozens had already e-mailed him at the start of his senior year; Oxford, Chaosbridge, Horrorvard, Yipe, MIT and many more.

"Hmm...?" Skull Boy hummed in pleasure until he finally processed Ruby's question, "Oh, that... well, I guess Oxford's kinda a good choice. Poe said he was going there too for a while so yeah. That or Horrorvard since it's closet to Gloomsville, only 23 miles away. I really hate this dilemma. I wish I could switch with someone else's problems."

"Something tells me that people will kill to be in your shoes." Ruby beamed.

"Thanks, I... er...,"

Suddenly, he couldn't help but stare into her eyes. They were exerting a certain allure, full of sparkle and joy, unaffected by the clouding of sorrows, and reflected so clearly all that Skull Boy could see his reflection. Wait, what? Really? Staring into her eyes? That was so clichéd.

He gulped nervously, if her EYES were making his bones rattle and shake, imagine what would happen during...,

"Well.. hey, what's Doom doing?"

* * *

A silken haze shadowed the gibbous moon.

The creature craved fresh meat. Her acute senses picked up an unsuspecting quarry and if she had lips, she likely would have licked them in anticipation. Her teeth glinted menacingly in the darkness. Her nostrils flared in feral delight.

Coiling like a spring, she prepared herself to lunge. Steely sinews propel her towards her helpless prey and once again, Doom Kitty's primal instincts provided sustenance.

Oh, chicken wings...

As she munched on the snacks, she couldn't help but eye the rest of the food items. Soon, her playful side kicked in as she grabbed a nearby baguette and empty bowl. Placing the bowl firmly on her head, she adjusted the bread and pretended that it was a bazooka, and when she 'shot', pieces of the baguette were launched at the dishes. Rolling on the table out of laughter, she composed herself to perform a graceful dive... into the potato salad.

"AIEEE! THERE'S A BLACK CAT HERE! BAD LUCK! BAD LUCK!" Someone shrieked.

Doom glanced back at the ghoul and yawned, as if to say, "Oh, you don't really believe that silly superstition, do you?".

"DOOM! THOSE WERE FOR THE GUESTS." Ruby scolded, wagging her finger at the sassy kitty.

Doom chuckled even as Ruby picked her up, finding joy in the monster's crying. She was so busy laughing that she didn't notice Skull Boy slipping into the janitor's closet, a haversack in his skeletal hands.

* * *

Skull Boy was now going through thick volumes of weddings and proposals. He was determined that when he asked Ruby for her hand in marriage, everything would be as wonderful as he could make it. He wanted it to be like in the old romantic movies and musicals he was forced to see; the crystal on her ring glinting in the moonlight, her drinking in the magic of the moment, meeting the gaze of the skeleton standing before her. And finally, saying those two sweet words, her promise to share each day with him, each night, each moment.

_"Ok, too much Phantom of the Opera. Stupid Christine... why the heck she chose Raoul, I'll never know." _He thought to himself.

"Skull Boy? What are you doing here?"

The skeleton actually jumped out of his seat and when he landed, his bones were scattered everywhere.

"Could you help me put all these back?" He asked.

"Well, it was not like I was writing the first line of my next script revolving around two boys, one a prince and one a pauper, in here because it was the only quiet place in this school, according to Iris." Venus said helpfully as she picked up a calf bone that had rolled to the mop.

When she finally snapped one of Skull Boy's metatarsals into place in one of his fingers, her pot accidentally hit against a book.

"What's that?" She asked, trying to pick up the book but Skull Boy snatched it from her,

"Wait! Don't! I'm only at Chapter 23 of 'Pop the Question'. The part where I have to ask her father for her hand in marriage."

"Oh, sorry, I thought it was just… WAIT, WHAT?!"

"Er... yeah, marriage. You know, that delicious food." He chuckled nervously.

"Really? Do you think that I was born yesterday?" She deadpanned.

"No." He deflated.

Venus actually squealed and felt her heart flying. Finally! A wedding! Oh, there was so much to do and she babbled to a blushing Skull Boy excitedly,

"Oh mon dieu! There's so much to do! First; we get rid of the book."

Before he could do anything, she had thrown the book out of the window.

"Secondly; La leçon de l'amour."

"What? Love? There are lessons of love?" Skull Boy wondered aloud as Venus dragged him to her desk.

* * *

Love is difficult to define. Nobody can truly grasp or explain love to its truest and deepest meaning. Its concepts are just a never-ending story of an open book of experiences. Love has no rules, no logic. There was not even a formula. Numerous of philosophers and psychologists have attempted to define love and failed.

This time would be different however, as Skull Boy donned a new costume, a new persona. From Bruce Lee, to dancer, to this.

The love doctor was in, with his trusty and beautiful assistant, _Venus._

Taking out his quill pen and tiny notebook, he was going to attend to his first client and solve his problem using the formula for love.

"Dr. Devotion! The patient is here!" Venus announced rather loudly into a megaphone. Dr. Devotion had to rub his ears and hoped that he didn't end up in the emergency room for a ruptured eardrum. **(Hey, how does Skull Boy hear things?)**

"So, according to my research, you've found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with and want to propose, get married. Falling in love was scary enough, but now, every time you think about proposing, your hands start to shake." Dr Devotion finally said after checking his hearing.

Skull Boy quickly sat down in an empty chair and stammered nervously,

"Y-yes. I guess."

He stood, now facing the empty chair and laughed,

"Don't worry — making a marriage proposal is easy once you have a game plan, strategy..."

"Woah, woah, woah, woah, _woah! _Game plan? strategy? This is a proposal, not a war." Venus balked at the idea of a planned proposal.

And as she went on and on about how wonderful a proposal should be, he finally realized. He didn't need the perfect night, or an expensive tux. He didn't need to spend hours looking at his flow chart.

All he needed was Ruby... and her day's permission.

Thus, he tossed aside his notes, and got ready.

"That's my skeleton... oh! Perfect quote for my book! Oh! I rhymed!" Venus giggled as she gathered her writing materials.

* * *

"Target spotted outside, near the pond, secluded, no one except some clown, over." Frank hissed into the walking-talkie. Just before he could cut the line however, Len asked,

"Our mission's over, already? Really?"

"Len…"

"Actually, I just needed you two to help me find him. Thanks." Skull Boy's muffled voice was heard and then, the line was dead.

"That was just **RUDE**!" Frank huffed.

"How was I being rude? Oh, I know! I forgot to say 'please'! Sorry, bro, please."

…

* * *

Vince Gloom was an aging but jovial voodoo doll.

While he was a wizened 700-year-old man, he had a lot of charming traits that would make you think that he was still a teenager. Eyes like earthshine pools, a smile electrifying scintillating. Maybe it was because he was the third 'monster' Frankenstein accidentally created, he constantly had to sew up his stitches. (At least this project was good enough to become Mayor of Gloomsville this time)

So when Skull Boy saw him, he was currently stitching one which had come loose after crying buckets of tears. In fact, Mr Gloom was still sniffling and Skull Boy's footsteps stopped. Maybe it wasn't such a good time...

While spying... er... looking for him, really... Skull Boy had seen how he reacted to the sight of his daughter approaching him. For a moment, he froze, blinking his eyes rapidly as if he were beholding an apparition. Even in the bright light, it was evident he was questioning whether his eyes were playing tricks on him. And then he relaxed, a mixture of sadness and acceptance darkening his features before they became aglow with joy when ran into his arms in the same manner she had when she was a little girl and buried her face in his chest, hugging him close.

Something told the skeleton that Mr Gloom had not really gotten over his wife's demise. So, he was more than prepared to leave him mourning...

… until Mr Gloom exclaimed cheerfully,

"HIYA, SKULLY!"

Skull Boy yelled for a good second before clearing his throat,

"Oh! Hi Mr Gloom! I mean, good evening, fine sir. I mean, HIYA, GLOOMY! Oh, can I just stick to 'hi', and ask you something please?"

Vince was completely unfazed and jumped up and down eagerly, until his hand.

Skull Boy took her father's hand but instead of giving it to the Mayor, he held it,

"I think you know what I want to ask."

"I know you do." He replied.

"Sir, I would be eternally grateful if I could marry your daughter. I know we're young, but we have an astounding future ahead of us, I know it. She's always been there for me, makes me look at life differently. If I actually never met her, my life would be over. I would never do anything to put Ruby in harm's way, ever. I am proud to call her my love, but I'd be even prouder to call her my wife. Would you?"

"Of… wait, that's what you wanted to ask? I swore that you would want to talk about Oxford. Poe told me that you have decided to go there. Not about you and Ruby!" Mr Gloom yelped.

"Er, actually, Oxford's one of my possible schools but right now, I would love to marry Ruby, sir." Skulls explained.

"MARRY?" Vince screeched. He didn't even care if his hand was scurrying away.

"Erm... if you're thinking about the socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them… then, yeah, I'm talking about that."

"SPOUSE?!" **(Do I really need to tell you who is screaming and who is gulping?)**

"Sir… Ruby has changed my life in many ways... amd I can't bear the thought of her leaving it. I want her to be by my side, to cherish her... I know this is a big step, and I'm not expecting an answer right this minute. If you'd like some time to think about it, I understand." Skull Boy finally managed to say the words in his mind.

"Actually... I have made my decision... I think?" Vince finally managed to say the words in his mind but the moment Skull Boy's eyes started to twinkle with hope,

"I'm sorry Skull Boy."


End file.
